Unfinished Business
by Mistress Panda
Summary: Two things I learned on these streets: keep ya mouth shut and don't act like ya gonna be somethin'. Mind as well sign ya death certificate. I ain't tryin' to be in a box in the ground. Moms already lost my big bro; I'm not doing that to her again. HIATUS!
1. Chapter 1

**Now, I'm telling you all beforehand that... I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM!!! ENTIENDA?**

**Good, then commence the fic! **

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_It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting. -Paulo Coelho_

A sunless dawn came as dark gray clouds hung over the dismal city, the navy blue clinging to the heavy water clusters. Night had just end, leaving another blood pool. Innocent blood. Blood that should never have been spilled. Yet there it was, trickling down the broken street.

Mourning. Sickening. Revenge. Emotions smothered the living. Sirens blaring were heard in the distance as the cries and sobs ensued. Mothers held their children, reminding them of their love. Some men stood waiting in the doorways of their homes.

Waiting for those policemen to mount on their property with questions. _What did you hear? Were you home when this happened? Do you know anything that might have led up to this? _

And they would answer with stoic expression. _A pop-pop, like fire crackers and some screeching of tires. I was eating breakfast with my family. People are just angry when others try to get ahead._

Others stayed in their homes. Fearful that when they stepped outside that they would be meet with Death himself.

A burgundy brick house sat on the corner of Racken and Quinn. Its facade deplorable: white paint chips fell every time the front door was slammed—which was quite often. Inside this abode lives the pieces of a family. My family. Rather a group of people that I happened to be related to by blood and live in the same house.

The one thing that I knew I was still alive was the throbbing. The throbbing head that rested on the armrest of the living room couch. _Wait, how did I get here? Why am I here?_

Creaking of the stairs confirmed my suspicions. I was home._ The last place I want to be right now. _

That somber man was making his way down the wooden stairs, every step laying more despair on the planks. His graying black hair laid limp against his pale wrinkled face. Shoulders sagged, feet shuffled. Stress and worry snagged on him. I saw the overweight man approach the kitchen, his wife probably sitting elegantly at the table with two cups of coffee.

I only heard their voices, trying to be quiet.

"Thanks Maddie," a deep masculine voice said.

"Does she know?" it was a feminine voice this time. I guess he may have answered with a 'yes' because a deep sigh echoed. "Sleeping on the couch."

_How long have I been here?_

"He actually decided to come home this time? For a moment, I thought he was the kid." My temper began to rise.

"Little bro?" another voice whispered. I opened my eyes again to meet two turquoise eyes looking down at me.

"Hey Jazz," I muttered. Low voices transformed into shouting.

"A hooligan is what he is! We could be harboring a murderer in our house!"

"Our child wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone kill another," she paused with uncertainty.

"You keep believing that boy is still naive? But there is no innocence left in him!" I couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't a murderer; I've got my morals.

Despite my sister's persuasiveness to not go into the kitchen, I groaned as I lifted myself off of the couch. My breathing heavy due to my anger and throbbing head.

Both adults turned their attention me as stood in the doorway, Sis beside me. I had no sympathy towards them, blue eyes glaring at my so-called parents. I became tense as he took a step towards the pair at the kitchen table. That man began to stand, disgust twisted into his face.

"Is that what you think of me? A murderer!" I shouted, a slight tone of betrayal in my voice. This man calls himself my "father" but he degrades me into such a title! Does he know what I go through to even stay alive?

"Calm down," Jazz soothed, attempting to restrain me but futile. "They don't mean it." But the ire in my soul wasn't satisfied.

"What are we suppose to think?" the large man asked, yelling. "You're rarely home. You skip classes or just don't show up for school. And you're always hanging out with those hooligans!"

He was only a foot away from me and I could smell it. Even underneath the coffee Mom gave him, it lingered as if it were a terminal illness. It would always be there, no matter what you did.

"Your breath reeks of alcohol!"

"Don't change the subject. This is about you!"

"Don't lie in front of them. I'm dead to you, just like Matt!"

At this point, I guess his patience with me broke—if there was any to began with. "How dare you!"

The large man lunged at me just as I had broke free from Sis' hold. Sparks flew as punches from both sides were delivered. I hit Jack squarely in the nose, breaking it. With blood still flowing from it, the middle-aged man picked me by the neck and slammed me against the wall. The coppery taste in my mouth returned and my head was spinning.

"You ungrateful piece of crap! I do all these--"

"You don't do crap for me, Jazz, nor Mom!" I gasped through his strangulation hold. "You just get drunk!" It was true. Ever since Jack—he's not the dad I knew—Matt died, he would drink. But once he was laid off from Axiom Labs, there were a few times that he was sober. Because of this, my mom had to pick up the tab of being the breadwinner, but sometimes that wasn't enough.

I blocked Jack's next assault and kneed him in the stomach. Needless to say that Jack released me from his death grip as he crumbled to the floor.

"Stop it please," my mom breathed. I looked over to see her hands trembling; a tear flowed down her cheeks. Looking over to his wife, he rose from the floor, panting.

"Until you get some sense, you're not welcomed here anymore!"

"Good. 'Cuz I can't stand to live with a deadbeat dad!" I grabbed my backpack from the floor and threw open the back door. I didn't once look back, ignoring Jazz's pleading sapphire eyes.

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I just strolled nonchalantly down another broken street. The police cars pulling out of the alley where they found another dead kid.

_Should have seen that coming..._

There are two things I learned on these streets: keep your mouth shut and never act like you're going to be something. That's what you do if you want to die. I ain't trying to be in a box in the ground. My mom already lost my older bro to that. I'm not doing that to her again...

Matt was his name. He had Mom's violet eyes and Jack's black hair. He was eldest out of us three. Not only generous and confident, he was an A and B student. He could be a bit clumsy but I didn't care. He was going to be something, and as any younger sibling, I wanted to be like him.

Now he's gone.

I looked to see I was heading towards Ray's apartment. It was sort of automatic: get into a fight with Jack, go to Ray's. And it didn't matter it was a school day or not. His place was better than school. School only made things worse. To be in the same class as **them** just got me in trouble in the end.

Ray was my big bro's closest friend. He used to tell me that when Ray wasn't with the Quinn members, he would be just a normal teenager trying to make it in life. That's why he would always chill with him. But the rival gangs, especially Cobra, immediately associated him as a Quinn. That doomed him to his fate.

"What does that fat man do anyway?" I forced through my teeth bitterly. "I do what I got to do. I can't survive with a drunk like him, let alone go to college."

I smiled. _College? Your future_ is_ these broken streets. _

As I grumbled things that the audience would inappropriate to hear, I noticed a green Toyota—it had a decent paint job, I'll give them that—slowed down beside me, keeping up with my pace. I looked straight ahead but the sound of the power window rolling down didn't escape my ears.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" a male voice questioned from behind the window. I ignored him, hoping he would just go away. But relief ensued since it wasn't any of** them** or the police would have two homicides on their hands. Not in the mood of getting shot after that fight in that house.

"I know you can hear me," it said._ Darn, this guy is persistent!_

"Why not you go pester some other kid?" I snapped, beginning to say more unpleasant things when I saw he was a pastor! His gray hair was pulled back into a ponytail, with his blue eyes scrutinizing me.

_Great. Just my luck to get stuck with a religious guy, a fruit loop at that. Probably wants me to join his youth group or something..._

"Because you walking the opposite direction of Casper High," he stated in a matter-of-fact way. I grimaced. _Of course I was walking away, does it _look_ like I'm going to school?_

"It's none of your business where I'm going. Now go preach on your stupid, meaningless pulpit about whatever you preach in church."

"How would your parents feel?" _He wasn't letting this go?_

"Don't give a care how they feel!" My temper was on a short fuse and I also wasn't in the mood for twenty questions. I was surprised to hear a chuckle. "What do you find so darn funny? I could knock out a few of those nice pretty white teeth of yours!"

"Oh nothing. Just that the boy found in the alley way said the same thing about his parents."

"Whatever old man." There was silence between us as I stuffed my hands in my pockets. My every step was followed by the roll of tires.

"Look, I'm just concerned for the youth of this neighborhood. If you ever want to talk, here's my card," a pale hand reached out of the window, a slip of paper between the index and the middle finger. I took the card as the hand retracted into the car.

Then he drove off, a newspaper blowing in his departure. I looked at the card and smirked.

"Vlad Masters, youth pastor at Hosanna Baptist Church." I tossed the stupid piece of paper in someone's yard while I continued onto my friend's house.

_An angel trying to help the damned in Hell..._

**So what do you think? Flames or continuation? I wasn't sure about posting this story, thus why I labeled it an oneshot. If you like it and want me to continue, then PM or review. **

**And for those who actually read New Moon Rise--my first fanfiction--don't worry. That will be updated at the earliest, next Thursday, due to AP exams and other obligations. **

**So review, review, review! The more reviews I get, the more motivated I will be to continue or discard this story. :)  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**WOW!! 4 reviews, 3 story alerts, and 1 fav so far! And that was only chapter 1! That's a personal record! Thanks for the support! **

**I'll warn you that there will be chapters that are not in Danny's POV, but those POVs are important to the development of the story. And yes, some of the characters will be a bit OOC, but it's the only way this story will work. **

**So with no further ado, here's Chapter 2! :) **

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Jazz's POV

I just stared at the chalkboard, automatically scribbling down random words as Mr. Lancer continued to moan about Shakespeare.

My mind was elsewhere. At that house.

So much pain in that house. It's only until I leave it, I could breathe. I understood why Danny didn't want to be here.

The atmosphere suffocated all the hope and love that dwelt within us. It was as if big bro took our spirit with him and left this shell, only the conscience intact.

We're just ghosts, wandering the earth until that fateful day that we can rejoin with Matt. I always imagined such a meeting. He'd say: "Whatcha cryin' for little sis?" And I would say: "'Cuz I'm glad to see you."

It would be so wonderful, to see him put on that goofy smile of his to cheer me up. To hug me, to hold me tight, saying that everything is gonna be alright. Oh how much I want that! Everything in my body aches for it, my soul aches for it.

Before, I wouldn't dare to indulged in such thoughts. Then...that alleyway. That God-forsaken alleyway!

He was only walking home after taking me to the library. We were studying! We were trying to make ourselves for the better! He would have been the first generation in his family to go on to college!

And he died for it.

I didn't even had a chance to tell him how I really felt about him.

'I love you Tuck,' I thought softly in my mind. Tears stung at my eyes, trying desparately to blink them away. But I couldn't. I gathered my things and ran out of the classroom before that oblivious English teacher could retort.

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Ray's POV

Life. What a big fat joke. If there is a God, he would be laughing his head off—if he had one.

My moms was always trying to get me to go to church. I always said to her, "If there was a God, then he wouldn't have taken all my boys away from me." Then she would cry, afraid that I would end up like them.

To not let one of my closest boys' hope for me die with him, I went to a tech school to be a computer technician. I got a steady job at Axion Labs, a decent apartment, and moved out of my mom's house. Moms shoving all this religious stuff down my throat was getting too much.

Tuesdays and Saturdays were my days off from work, even though I'm on call. I would workout or read some books, keeping with my education. I didn't want to end up like some of my co-workers who were stuck in the same job because they neglected to keep up with their skills.

But on this Tuesday, it was more of sleeping. At my job, they started a new research project, and I was the unlucky man to check and test all the servers and routers. After that, I had to monitor the systems for about an extra fifteen minutes since my relief was late, thus I didn't get home until about one in the morning.

I was sleeping when a certain rapping on the door forced me to get up. I groaned, muttering _Who has the nerve to wake me up on my day-off? Do they know what kind of crap I've got to put up with? I'm gonna punch the livin-- _I wrenched the door open to see him.

My boy's little bro, Dan (he gave up that nickname of 'Danny' since Matt died).

From the look on his face and the bruises, I knew that drunken bastard and him got into another fight. And by the smug grin on his face as he rubbed his purplish neck, he had victory this time. I sighed.

"What was it this time?" I mumbled as I let him in. I yawned and stretched, cracking my back. The fourteen-year-old dropped himself on my sofa, his backpack beside him. Irritation was etched on his face.

"He thought I was a murderer. Tryin' to take some credit for providin' for us," he spat. "He finally just kicked me out."

I put my head in my hand as I sat in the chair across from him. 'Great,' I thought, 'Now I've got a rebellious teen under my roof.'

"Ya can stay here but ya gots to get that paper," I said sternly. "I promised you big bro that I wouldn't allow ya to drop out."

"I ain't going! Ya know how they are at Casper High," he shouted, my poor tired ears cringing. "And Cobra is there too! I'm a dead man!"

"But there's Quinn members too. Ya be fine," I insisted but the boy was right. Though Quinn was a rather powerful gang, Cobra was a force to be reckoned with. They took out a few other gangs, either forcing them into their ranks or killing those who refused. But some of these lost gang members fled to Quinn, making the two nemeses almost equal in membership.

And Dan was an active Quinn. When you're that status, your lifespan is cut, at least, in half.

"Did I wake ya?" he asked a slight chuckle. I just wanted to have at him but I restrained myself. I was the adult, needed to be the bigger person.

"Ya did," I mumbled, not masking the annoyance in my voice. "And ya going to school. Don't make me get out my 9 millimeter."

"Whateva."

_It is gonna take all my strength to live with this boy._

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Vlad's POV

I stood out on the back porch of the parsonage after that stupid meeting. Something about my inexperience, but I tuned it out. I heard voices nearby as I slumped on the railing.

"So are we going to do it?" I was immediately intrigued, straining to hear.

"Yeah. Tomorrow, that Quinn is going down."

I heard a chuckle. "Too bad for him..."

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**So yeah. Heh, heh. (readers staring daggers) I know, I'm a day late. But you got to remember that I'm coming off of AP week! :D**

**Remember, the more reviews, the more motivated I am to write more. Flames are welcomed.**

**P.S. What do you guys think of Vlad being a pastor? Review or PM me with your answer.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**I would like to thank all of the following authors who have reviewed and/or added me to their favs or story alerts so far: Stephinie Crow Manson, Sabaku no Sable, SamZ, Crazy Joe IFBA, Sand Demon Max, Lady Padfoot21, Gefion, Evil Long Penname Having Individual End , and Secret Thought. You guys have been awesome! ^_^**

**I would like to apologize for two things. One, sorry about the confusion in last chapter if you've read it without the POV labels. I meant to put them there but I forgot. Lady Padfoot21 reminded me so there you go. Two, because I haven't updated in over a month. But I promise that this chapter will have more depth and action to the story.**

**Disclaimer: Plot, Matt, and Ray mine. All others are Hartman.**

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Danny's POV

It was one o'clock in the morning and I still couldn't get to sleep. I was tossing and turning on that stupid futon. I really appreciated that Ray took me in but God, why did this have to be so hard? I could feel the bars rubbing against my spine!

Since I wasn't able to sleep on the futon frame, I decided to put the mattress on the floor, thinking that maybe I could get some shut eye there. But I ended up staring at the ceiling.

I must have stayed up all night because the next thing I remembered was an alarm clock blaring. Seeing that it didn't apply to me, I tried to get some sleep.

Keyword there is 'tried.'

As I was finally about to surrender myself to that void, I heard a cocking of a gun, a _click_ I knew too well. The greenish-blue bedsheets were taken from me, the florescent light blinding my eyes. When my sight adjusted somewhat only to meet eye-to-eye with the barrel of a nine millimeter.

"You're going to school today," came his stern, cold voice. The light from the ceiling shadowed his face; only the glare from those murderous brown eyes boring into my pupils.

Of course, I had to open my big mouth, saying, "You won't shoot me over--"

My words were stopped short with a gunshot and plaster raining onto my raven hair.

"What the hell Ray!"

"I might not be an active Quinn, but that doesn't mean I haven't forgotten how to aim," his tone chilled me to the bone—though I'll never admit it to him. "And you fixing that when you get back. Now get ready."

I felt like I was a prisoner as he aimed that anxious bullet to my torso everywhere I went—not the bathroom, though I couldn't escape from there. He escorted me to his car, making me sit in the backseat. I had the urge to retaliate, a fire of resentment building. I kept thinking to myself, _Just go, run, don't give into his demands. _But the logical side of mind disagree, _Can you dodge bullets? Didn't think so. _

I tried to the handle, jump out of the car. I groaned as I saw a smirk play across Ray's facial features from the corner of my eye. _Only Ray would have child-safety locks... _

I was stuck going to school against my will, Casper High at that. I could skip but knowing Ray, he probably notified the whole faculty about my habit of leaving school. The thing he didn't understand was that I wasn't leaving for the hell of it—though at times, that was the case—but to work. Get some money, support my big sis and my moms. And I went to the library—when I could and no one was watching me.

Casper High just wasn't the type of place I wanted to be in, especially as a Quinn. It was stuffy and the atmosphere was so tense that a knife could cut through it. I checked my pockets.

_Good, I got it..._

The security there told us students not to bring weapons, however that was exactly what we did. You had to protect yourself in that school, by any means necessary. My big sis has pepper spray, some others have pocketknives, and the bold ones bring guns.

Which get them suspended.

_There should be a law that says that registered guns can't be used against minors to persuade them to go to school._

"We've got company," the 20-year-old stated, stirring me from my thoughts. I looked through the back window of the black compact car. My heart went to my stomach, beating faster.

There, trailing Ray's black 2001 Hyundai Ascent, was the ominous emerald 1998 Toyota with Standard van. On the side, the decal of a cobra in attack position, fangs dripping with the lethal venom. Its golden eyes burrowed into any of its members' victims, the same look present in any of **them**.

"Dan, duck down," he yelled as **they **began firing on us. Bullets shattered the back window, ricocheting from the metal license plate and other parts of the car's body. Ray accelerated the car, keeping down when necessary. One of the bullets lodged itself into the passenger seat. I took it from its place, my eyes scrutinizing the cylindrical projectile. I gasped, realizing what I had in my hands.

"Ray?" I shouted.

"What!" he bellowed, clearly stressed.

"These are hollow-tip bullets!" Silence engulfed the car—save from the gunshots and screeching of tires—both of us fully understanding the situation in its entirety.

That they wanted us dead and they didn't care if the method was illegal.

I tried to alleviate the stressful situation. "I'm going to be late to school," I whined sarcastically. That only earned me a death look from my big bro's boy.

3rd POV

As the van swayed to and fro, the leader of the assault sat in the backseat, listening to the sweet sound of gunfire.

His Cobra name: Nex Addo.

His hair was a flaming white with yellow eyes—thanks to the contact lenses. Donned in emerald green and black, he opened his mouth in maniacal laughter, revealing his split tongue and piercings. Each one representing every Quinn and their associate he brought to their death in his life of being a Cobra. He was up to thirteen proud piercings.

His latest one: Tucker Foley.

His next target: Ray Parson. And he wasn't about to let the boy slither from his grasp.

"You can run but you can't hide, Ray!" he hissed through the megaphone, leaning out the window.

Ray's POV

_Darn it! That bastard!_ That's what ran through my mind when I heard his voice. It only made me more determined to get out of there. Because if I didn't, I knew it would only be one of us left standing.

I could sense Dan knew him too. I could feel the anger emitting from the raven-haired kid.

I kinda figured I would be on his list sooner or later, though I really didn't participate in the gang activities anymore.

Then again, I will always be a Quinn until the day I die.

I just don't want it to be today.

I swerved to avoid a semi truck, cutting off Cobra for the time being.

Dan spat, "Ray, let me put a cap in their—"

"No, this is our chance to lose them," I said, interrupting the teen. "We're not going to risk the fact that they have hollow-tip bullets. This ain't your fight; it's mine."

"Man, we're Quinn. Your fight_ is_ my fight!"

I admired the kid's spirit but I wasn't going to indulge. I promised Matt, over his grave, that I would try my best to protect his younger siblings, especially his little bro. It was the least I could do for him.

"I said—" A stinging erupted into my senses. I bit back a cry of pain as I looked down to see my left hand bleeding. I checked my shattered side-view mirror to see multiple faces of that driver.

Somehow, some way, the Cobra was only a few feet away from my bumper!

"We need to take out their tires!" the blue-eyed teen shouted. "We need to be far enough away to do it!"

Ignoring his suggestions, I accessed the situation more. _They have hollow-tip bullets...They're virtually on my bumper...And Nex Addo is leading them... _The more I looked at it, the more I needed to get Dan out of there.

"I'm going to be letting you out soon," I stated in the most calm voice I could muster as my heart raced in anxiety.

"How?" he asked with skepticism. "You got child-safety locks!"

"You need to climb up here, to the passenger's seat," I continued. "When I give the signal, I want to you jump out of the car!"

"Are you crazy?"

"Do you want to live?" He was struck silent, looking as pale as a ghost. I guessed he finally was aware of his mortality. "Well?"

Seeing that they were reloading, he slipped his way out front with me. He had his hand on the handle, sweat pouring down his face.

"What about you?" his voice was low, almost a whisper. He was trembling, desperately trying to hide it.

"I'll be fine knowing you're okay," I let out a laugh. "Who knows? We'll laughing about how we were scared to death later this evening."

He smirked, "Yeah."

I opened the door and pushed him out of my car. He tumbled onto the sidewalk nearby, a shock, hostile look on his face. (A/N: Don't try this at home peoples!)

"Ray!" I heard him shout as I sped off.

Just as I planned, they didn't notice a teenage Quinn fall from my car. I pulled my nine millimeter from underneath my seat and loaded it.

I wasn't going down without a fight.

I began unloading my clip onto the driver and the tires, like Dan suggested. The driver fell limp behind the steering wheel, the van losing control. I sped down the street, towards the parkway, with Nex Addo's crew in hot pursuit.

"Finally some fun!" I saw him out of my left side-view mirror, nearly gone. He threw the man in his driver's seat out the van into the freeway below.

_That just ain't right..._

He began to pull up beside me, ramming my car against the guardrails, sparks flying.

_Man, messing up my paint job... _I chuckled ruefully, more concerned for my car than my life. I continued shooting but I knew it was too late. My nine millimeter was no match to hollow-tip bullets.

It happened so slow.

He pulled up beside me, our eyes making contact for a moment, cold. The Magna glistened in the sunlight, its barrel aimed for my chest. I took aim to his head, thinking, _If I die, he's going down with me_.

"This is for Matt, Joey, Lil' Man, Tick, and all my boys you taken away from me!"

He didn't say anything.

Just his face twisted into that psychotic, sick grin as we both pulled our triggers.

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**Psycho: (smirking with vile) Ah! Poor Kitty! She's crying! Too much violence for her taste. (insert maniacal laughter here)**

**Kitty: Leave me alone Demon.**

**Me: Oookay. (to audience) I hope you liked. Sorry for the long wait but now I'm on summer vacation! (pumps a fist into the air) I promise I won't leave this story abandoned for so long again.**

**Kitty: We extend a challenge to you wonderful readers: What does Nex Addo mean? Psycho, the hint.**

**Psycho: Alright. It's from the least spoken language in the mortal world. Happy?**

**Kitty and I: Yup! **

**Kitty: Oh, and BETA READERS WANTED!! Interested persons PM or review the authoress. **

**Psycho, Kitty, and I: Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! You guys are so lucky that my cousin sent me out of my procrastination mode. He was dangling a chocolate bar in front of me that he refused to give me until I typed, edited, and posted this chapter. He's so mean but I love him all the same. ; )  
**

**On with the story.  
**

**Disclaimer: Plot, Matt, and Ray mine. All others are Hartman.**

Vlad's POV

The morning sun poured through the stained glass windows of the church, casting an array of purples, blues, greens, and oranges about the walls and floors.

It would have been a relaxing sight if not for the two caskets—one gray and one white—that were placed in front of the altar. Silent sobs were echoing off the walls. A mass of black and navy blue were the only colors that were donned on the congregation.

Funerals. The celebration of the sending off the dead souls to a higher plane. At least, that's how my mentor explained it to me while I was going through seminary. I still see the ceremony as bleak and depressing as the next former Atheist.

There was something wrong when young people die. It was as if it were breaking some unwritten rule: don't die until you're old and gray. But where I was from, that rule had been broken on numerous occasions.

I sighed as my head rested on the fist of my hand, half-listening to the speech the head pastor was giving.

"...and so don't be ashamed of those tears...Be happy for them...They are going to a better place and when it is our time, they will greet us with open arms..."

_Yeah, be happy for lives that were cut too short...Why not tell the truth?...They died and it hurts like crap to still be living in this desolated world...God I hate it when people sugarcoat things..._

I scanned over the sea of these heart-broken people, their faces stricken with sorrow. It was then that I saw him. The boy from a week ago sat expressionless as who I assumed to be his sister sobbed on his shoulder. He embraced her, trying his best to comfort her.

Suddenly, he raised his eyes up to me, glaring those baby blue irises into my own. It was almost as if he were challenging me through our eye contact, "Where's your 'all-powerful' God now?"

I understood that look, the same look I had before becoming a pastor.

Skeptical.

He quickly looked away, trying to seem that his attention was back to his sister, but I saw.

I saw those eyes glisten with mourning tears ready to flow.

Hearing the head pastor, Grant, announcing all the pall bearers to their positions, I exhaled as we all stood. The choir began singing some hymn that I never heard of as the congregation followed behind the caskets' procession towards the late morning sun.

Danny's POV

_Why? _

That stupid pastor said some prayer to their god.

_Why?_

His moms sparkled some dirt onto his casket, tears running down her chocolate cheeks. "My baby, please have a safe trip." She tried to be strong but sobs overtook her. Her husband pulled her away from the grave.

_Why?_

They lowered his gray casket into the ground. Everyone began to head back to their cars but I stayed rooted into place. I knew I wore the same expression that I had two years ago, at Matt's funeral.

_Why?_

I felt so betrayed and abandoned, just like then. Matt said that he would always be there and never leave me.

He lied.

_Why?_

_You said the same thing to me after Matt died_, I thought as I looked down into that six-foot hole in the ground, unable to stop the flow of tears. I didn't care if I looked like some wimp or weakling. The pain was there; the betrayal was there.

No prayer, sermon, nor comforting words could relieve the hurt of the lie that resided in that casket.

"Just like Matt did... You lied... You lied to me Ray..."

Unknown POV

It was beautiful for a day of a funeral. The sun shone without the hindering of clouds. New blooms on the trees reached for its rays.

There was always that belief that the death of one is the birth of another. This is how many of the elders of the congregation alleviated themselves of the sad occasion.

The youth, however, saw it differently. Grant was only shoving comforting words down their throats to keep them from the truth...

That death is the end to all.

Oh how wrong these youth were! There is more to this world than what meets the eye. Satan himself was trying to take claim over their souls. If they only knew the truths will they stop this pointless bloodshed and be free of the Devil's clutches.

It was heartbreaking, especially seeing the children whose names are Daniel and Jasmine. The tears of sorrow wouldn't stop as the caskets of their friends were lowered into their holes. They have so much potential that is suppressed by the demons that surround them.

"Thinking about interfering again, are we?" a voice echoed through the somber atmosphere.

"I can't just stand by and see them this way," I replied. "Especially him."

"There is nothing you can do. It is what it is."

"And allow those demons to corrupt him? You're insane!"

"You have no control over that. He is allowing them to corrupt him. He must learn on his own the place designated for him in the coming days. Only then will they leave."

There was no point to argue any further. He had already made his decision.

_Please... For the sake of Heaven and my own... Choose the light..._

**Kitty: Authoress, who is the Unknown perspective?**

**Me: Ah, if I tell you (looks to audience) then they will know.**

**Kitty: Psycho put you up to this, didn't she?**

**Me: Ah...**

**Psycho: Yes I did. What's matter? Don't like being out of the loop?**

**Me: Ah guys...**

**Kitty: It would be nice to be well-informed. **

**Me: Ah guys...**

**Psycho: I'm far from nice and you know it. Besides I like messing with your head.  
**

**Me: (as they begin fighting) Well, there you have it, chapter 4. (ducks out of the way of a fireball) EEK! Watch where you aim! (clears throat) Again, constructive criticism, compliments, and suggestions are all welcome. See you again soon. (jumps out of the way of a spell from Kitty) If I survive until then.**

**PS. I have a poll on my profile page to help decide which story you guys want to see from me next. Go there now and vote!  
**


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